Kids find maths a hard nut to crack

Survey looks into ‘maths anxiety’

A recent survey by Cuemath found that children in school tend to face the highest amount of pressure to perform well in mathematics rather than any other subject.

The survey found that 89 per cent of parents believe math is the toughest subject for their kids yet 81 per cent said their child's performance in maths was most important. Around 77 per cent believed that math was not taught well in schools and 75 per cent saw tuitions as a must.

The survey considered a randomised set of over 1,000 parents in metros to gauge their awareness of ‘maths anxiety.’ While 68 per cent of parents were not aware of ‘maths anxiety’, 67 per cent were willing to take corrective measures.

“The problem is that maths is looked at as just a subject, not a life skill. Blackboard teaching and rote learning have created unnecessary hurdles,” said Cuemath CEO and founder Manan Khurma.

“Seventy-nine per cent of parents said their child shows interest in solving maths-based activities like puzzles and Rubik’s cube, a clear indication that an engaging and intuitive way of learning will generate more interest and curiosity from the child,” he said. Mr Khurma said maths anxiety stemmed from a lack of development of strong fundamentals. “To overcome this, early-stage math skills development is crucial," he said. "The recent move by HRD minister Prakash Javadekar to form a committee to tackle math phobia is thoughtful.” Mr Chandrajeet Singh, a parent, said maths was not taught well in schools. “I spent time with my kid to see whether he understood the concept or not. To my surprise he did not and I had to explain it.”

The problem is that maths is looked at as just a subject, not a life skill. Blackboard teaching and rote learning have created unnecessary hurdles," — Manan Khurma, CEO and founder of Cuemath